[obelix112za]

This is what I'm saving to buy in the next few months:
20" iMac, 2GB, 250GB HDD, 2.16GHz processor. etc...

I'll be running XP Home through parallels on my iMac as well.
My question to you is how much Harddrive space does Windows take once installed?

The reason I'm asking is that I'll be playing Serious Sam and Unreal Tournament 3 on my iMac (through Windows & Parallels), and I'm wondering if not to get the 3GB RAM, 2.33 Processor and maybe the 500GB HDD?
It's allot of money xtra, and I'm also buying a new printer, new external HDD's and a Canon EOS 1D MKIII, so of course it's all very expensive, so I'm trying to work out where I can save a bit.
Do I really need the xtra RAM, Harddrive space etc...?

[roller]

I think if you are playing games, the more RAM the better. I don't think the processor will make much difference. As for the HD space, I just don't think you can have too much. If I were pinching my pennies, I would go with more RAM and less processor and decide where that puts my budget on the HD space. But if you are getting external space, then I would feel ok leaving that out.

[mduell]

2GB vs 3 isn't going to make much of a difference for the games he mentioned; of course, buy the iMac with as little memory as possible and upgrade it yourself, saving quite a few bucks in the process. Don't bother with the extra 167Mhz for an exorbitant price; you won't notice it. For the price Apple wants for the 500GB upgrade, you could buy an external 500GB drive and have money left over.

[PEPPERRULES]

I've seen some nice external La Cie 500 GB hard drives for not much more than $100. Maybe it was around $120.